Data Retention in Europe and Beyond

Abstract

Bringing together leading scholars, members of the judiciary, and practitioners, this book provides a cutting-edge, comprehensive, and multifaceted analysis of data retention and the subsequent access of law enforcement authorities to retained electronic communications data. In the aftermath of the invalidated Data Retention Directive, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has published rich case law that shapes the rules, requirements, and safeguards on retention and access in accordance with EU law. This book focuses on selected topics surrounding data retention aiming not only at providing a critical assessment of legal and policy developments, but also at guiding policy makers on the potential future for data retention regulation in the European Union and beyond.

Chapters in this book explore the development of the EU case law, the interaction with ECtHR jurisprudence, the interplay between data retention and mass surveillance, the proportionality principle in the CJEU rulings, and data retention in the proposed ePrivacy Regulation, while no fewer than 11 chapters are dedicated to country-specific analyses of European Member States. Acknowledging that data retention is far from an EU matter only, the book also offers international perspectives, with country-specific chapters on India, Japan, and the United States. The book is complemented with chapters dedicated to the role of the courts in the context of data retention, epistemic (in)justice, extensive contributions on automated analysis of retained data by means of algorithms, and retention as intrinsic facet of administrative and surveillance vulnerability.

Comprehensive and informative, this book is a valuable tool for everyone interested in the topic, from students and legal scholars, to practitioners and policy-makers.